Pre-breasted heel



Feb. 26, 1957 e. FROST PRE-BREASTED HEEL Filed Dec. 6, 1955 IN VEN TOR.

GUSTAVE FROST B HIS ATTORNEY.

United States Patent PRE-BREASTED HEEL Gustave Frost, Long Beach, N. Y., assignor to Andrew Geller, Iuc., Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 6, 1955, Seriai No. 551,357 2 Claims. (Cl. 12-142) This invention relates to a method of heel breasting and relates also to a novel pre-breasted heel for ladies shoes.

The usual practice in forming a heel breast is to split the outer sole throughout the heel portion and to incorporate all or some part of the upper layer in the heel section of the shoe. The heel is then affixed to the shoe and the breasting operation is performed by carefully cutting the lower layer of the outer sole to the contour and shape of the breast portion of the heel, skiving the edges of this breast covering and then securing it by adhesive to the breast portion.

The operation of cutting the breast covering to proper shape, skiving the edges and then securing it in place is quite difiicult and requires a highly skilled workman. In accordance with the present invention the breast covering is first cut to the exact contour of the breast portion and of a width slightly less than the same. This blank is cut with a cutting die and it is preferably, although not necessarily, cut from the lower layer of the heel section of the outer sole. This blank is then adhesively secured to the breast portion of the heel before the latter is applied to the shoe.

By forming the blank from about a inch to a inch narrower than the breast portion of the heel a desired measure of tolerance is given to an unskilled worker and with this tolerance it is usually necessary to skive the opposed edges in order to secure an exceedingly neat and finished appearing breast. In die-cutting this blank from the heel portion of the outer sole substantially the same area of the lower layer of the latter is utilized in the breasting operation as would be utilized by following the conventional method earlier referred to.

It is, of course, not necessary that this lower layer of the outer sole be utilized to form the blank and in many instances it may be desirable to cut the breast from leather having a different surface texture or even different color from the outer sole, thus giving rise to unusual ornamental effects.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an outer sole for a ladies shoe and showing in broken lines the blank for the breast covering which is cut from the lower layer of the split heel section.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the lower surface of a shoe embodying the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the shoe.

Referring now to Fig. 1, there is here shown a plan View of an outer sole having a forepart 10, a shank section 11 and a heel section 12. The material in the heel section is split from the rear edge 13 to a point generally in the area of dotted line 14. This forms an upper heel section 15 and a lower flap 16. In accordance with usual practices the upper section 15 is incorporated into the laminated heel section of the shoe and the lower flap is used in forming the heel breast. In some instances the upper section 15 is cut ofi near the heel section and is discarded.

To follow the teaching of the present invention a cutting die is used to cut from flap 16 a blank 17 of irregular shape extending forwardly from rear edge 13,

2,782,433 Fatented Feb. 26, 1957 such blank being defined by dot-and-dash lines 20 and 21. Spaced lines 20 have the contour of the opposed edges of the forward face of the heel to which the blank, forming the heel breast, is to be secured. In actual practice this blank may be about inch, more or less, narrower than the breast portion of the heel. As was earlier pointed out, this gives the worker a tolerance and it is then generally unnecessary to skive the edges of the breast covering. The shape of forward edge 21 is a matter of choice and it may depart from the V-shape shown. It will be noted that these cut lines 21 extend beyond the intersections with curved lines 20 because the upper section of the heel breast is narrower than this portion ofthe sole. Portions 22 lying outside the cut lines are waste and are discarded.

The shoe formed with upper 25 may be lasted in a conventional manner and the outer sole 10 is affixed to the inner sole (not shown) in the usual fashion. The heel 27 may be of the covered or the uncovered variety and includes the usual heel lift 28. Before the heel is applied to the shoe the blank 17 forming the heel breast is applied thereto, usually by adhesive. Since the blank is die cut to the exact shape desired it may be readily affixed to the front face of the heel and the forward section is unafiixed at the time the heel is secured to the shoe. After the heel has been secured to the shoe the free flap 30 is adhesively secured to the arch section of the upper layer of the outer-sole.

By having the rear edge of blank 17 start at the rear edge 13 of flap 16 there will usually be some excess material between forward section 30 of the blank forming the breast covering and rear section 31 of the outer sole. Accordingly, if these two sections are to meet in abutting relation as is usually the case, one section may first be adhesively secured and the meeting terminal of the other section then trimmed to complemental shape and then adhered.

What I claim is:

1. The method of breasting a heel which consists in splitting the heel section of an outer sole, then die-cutting from the lower layer of said heel section a blank to form the breast covering and being of sutficient length to extend forwardly into the shank section of the shoe, securing the breast covering to the breast portion of the heel while leaving the forward portion thereof free and unattached, then affixing the breasted heel to the shoe, securing the forward portion of the blank to the shank section, trimming the rear edge of the lower layer of the outer sole to meet the edge of said forward portion in abutting relation, and then securing said rear edge to the upper layer of the outer sole.

2. The method of breasting a heel which consists in splitting the heel section of an outer sole, then die-cutting from the lower layer of said heel section a blank to form the breast covering and being of sufiicient length to extend forwardly into the shank section of the shoe, securing the breast covering to the breast portion of the heel while leaving the forward portion thereof free and unattached, then aflixing the breasted heel to the shoe, removing any excess material between the forward portion of the blank and the rear edge of the lower layer of the outer sole, and then securing said portion in place on the lower surface of the upper layer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,691,149 Cocozella Nov. 13, 1928 FOREIGN PATENTS 86,198 Austria Nov. 10, 1921 481,053 Germany Aug. 13, 1929 

